For those who have wondered where the "tea party" movement goes next, US Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) of Minnesota, one of its key promoters, has an answer: The tea partyers’ platform of fiscal frugality, lower taxes, and a smaller government that adheres more closely to the Constitution, she says, will lead the GOP to a political resurgence.

“What we’re seeing is that the Republican Party is waking up to and recognizing that the real uprising happening across America isn’t just about Republicans, but disaffected Democrats and independents saying, ‘Wait a minute, the country isn’t working anymore, let’s get back to balance,' " said Bachmann, who will speak Feb. 6 at the Tea Party Nation convention in Nashville, Tenn.

President Obama seems to have gotten the memo, too, taking a decidedly more populist stance in recent days – ordering, for one thing, a partial federal spending freeze.

The tea party movement, which arose almost a year ago after passage of several federal bailout bills, grew into a national affair as irate protesters gathered repeatedly in small towns and big cities in objection to what they see as fiscal profligacy by both parties in Washington.